Make Royal Crowns at the Britannia Mine Museum’s Copper & Fire Arts Event!

Before summer ends, make time for a fun jaunt together to Britannia Mine Museum! A forty-five minute drive north of Vancouver along the gorgeous Sea-to-Sky Highway (Highway 99) takes you to the Museum where there are a host of things to do.

Better yet, on Sunday, September 11, 2016, the Museum is holding their annual Copper & Fire Arts event from 10am to 3pm.

The event celebrates the talent and creativity of BC artists and their crafts made from mined materials “of the earth.”

Participating artists include Martin Vseticka who works with gold and silver using traditional techniques and tools to make jewellery; Liza Bennett, who makes pottery inspired by plants; Edith Warner, a mixed media artist; and Byron Anderson who makes wire art trees using recycled materials.

Besides browsing and admiring the work of these talented artists, you and your date can take part in a craft session led by Kyra Kelpin. During the session, the two of you will get the chance to make beautiful wire gemstone copper crowns and “be a royal for a day” (I’m really excited about this!). The crown making is intended to honour the upcoming visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Kate Middleton) to British Columbia, as well as pay tribute to the Copper Queen community festival that used to be held at the Mine (1926-1975).

You can also take part in all the other activities at the Museum. The mine itself operated from 1904 to 1974, employing over 60,000 workers and extracting over 50 million whopping tons of ore. Learn more about the history of the mine; visit the 1908 machine shop, mineral gallery, and historic concentrator mill; pan for gold; and climb aboard the popular mine train to tour an early haulage tunnel.

The mine is open seven days a week, from 9am to 5:30pm. Visit the Britannia Mine Museum website for more details.